It is important to have a vision of child jurisprudence in order to ensure that all issues pertaining to the deprivation of children are heard, Shantha Sinha, chairperson, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, has said.
Speaking at the inaugural of the second national conference on Child Abuse for Multidisciplinary Professionals organised by the Indian Council for Child Welfare here, Dr. Sinha said it is essential to have a larger vision. “We have to look at the existing legal and medical frameworks, the ChildLine, and protection systems together. That simply does not exist now.”
The investigation and judicial processes are currently geared towards addressing adults. “Investigation is in the hands of the police. How do we project children as victims and witnesses in judicial process? How do we protect them from the hostile processes?” she asked.
When compared to the adult, a child is in a far more vulnerable position – being young and not in a position to even complain. It is necessary to create an enabling environment in terms of support structures to enable deposition, Dr. Sinha added. Any framework must base itself on the assumption that children are not in a position to express themselves. Therefore, she advocated a special pre-investigative procedure for all crimes relating to children. Legal aid cells, NGOs, hospitals, child counsellors will have to play a crucial role in collecting evidence and recording statements. It has to be done professionally, and also in a manner that ensures that the child feels comfortable with the process. If it was impossible to integrate this into the Indian Evidence Act, then it was necessary to examine if the Act itself will have to be amended.
“In the Integrated Child Protection Scheme, a particular section mentions children in contact with law. Perhaps we have to elaborate this in the Juvenile Justice system,” she said.
Satish Kumar, UNICEF , State Representative – Tamil Nadu and Kerala, said India had very high incidence of child labour, child marriage, sex-selective abortions and female foeticide. India also hosts the largest number of children who have been sexually abused and who have suffered from some form of abuse.
The abuse, at 69 per cent, is at a higher rate than in most other countries.
Mary Yapur, Training Officer, International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, USA, released a resource book on the occasion. Andal Damodaran, vice-president, ICCW - TN, explained the aims of the workshop. Sarojini Varadappan, president, ICCW- TN released the souvenir. V.R.Venkatachalam, Chancellor, Sri Ramachandra University (SRU), S.Rangaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, SRU, and Chandra Thanikachalam, general secretary, ICCW-TN, offered felicitations.
